I'm Sorry
by Mandie scifi lover
Summary: In Episode 6, Skye tells Fitz she made the rounds and apologized to everyone. This story is all those missing scenes. Takes place between Episode 5 and 6.


Missing scene between Episode 5 and 6.

Hello readers! So, I watched Episode 6 and it starts out with Skye telling Fitz she made the rounds and apologized to everyone on the team. I was sad they didn't have time to show that on the show, so I decided to write the apologies myself. I hope you enjoy!

OOOOO

I'm sorry

The night after talking to Coulson in his office, Skye went straight to her bunk, not stopping to even look at any of the other members of their team. She felt terrible about what she'd done, about lying about her true mission, about lying about Miles. But she also didn't know what else she _could_ have done. Sure, she shouldn't have contacted Miles and she should have been up front about their relationship. If she had, things would probably be different. And it _was _her own fault for not trusting them.

But that was the hard part. Skye hardly knew how to trust people she'd known for years, much less people she just met who were part of an organization she hated! How could she have done anything different? But it turned out her trust in Miles had been misplaced. He had betrayed her, just like everyone else she'd ever trusted. And that didn't make it any easier to trust the SHIELD team.

She sighed as she closed her bunk door, hoping no one would bother her. She needed to be alone. At least Coulson had let her stay, all be it under the equivalent of house arrest. But, it was better than getting thrown onto the street again, or into a jail cell. And she truly wanted to earn back the teams trust.

It suddenly hit her that she had committed the exact act she was afraid of having committed against her. She had betrayed the teams trust, and all of them, especially Ward, felt that deeply. She remembered Ward standing up for her to Coulson and remembered how she'd felt when he'd done that; warm inside, like she was finally trusted and valued. She remembered how open Ward was becoming with her, and thought about how hard that must have been for him.

And she had thrown that trust right back into his face.

It's no wonder he'd been short with her and refused to come up and see Coulson.

She didn't sleep that night. She couldn't stop her mind from racing and thinking about everything she'd done and how it could have been different. When light started to appear in her window, revealing the Hong Kong airstrip they were parked on, Skye started to think about how she could apologize to her team. When the light outside indicated that it was finally actually morning, she thought she had a plan.

Exiting her bunk, she looked around and saw that the lounge area was deserted. Sighing, she went to the galley to get some coffee and, still not meeting anyone, began to wonder if everyone else was still sleeping. But then, she heard the familiar tones of Fitz and Simmons arguing and decided she should start with them. After all, they would probably be the easiest to gain forgiveness from.

Descending the stairs, she came to the back door of the lab and knocked lightly.

"Come in!" she heard Simmons yell.

Opening the door warily, she was met with Simmons and Fitz both looking at her from behind a work table upon which their breakfast was sitting. They both looked surprised to see her.

"Skye," Fitz said, smiling a bit awkwardly and raising a hand in greeting.

"Hello Skye," Simmons said, with an equally awkward tone.

Skye walked in, giving them a tight smile. "Hey guys. Enough with the awkwardness okay?" She sighed and they both looked at each other, turning back to her and beginning to talk at the same time.

"Were we being awkward?" Simmons was saying, "I don't think we were being awkward, perhaps strange… or weird? But not awkward. After all why would we need to be awkward? I mean it's not like you did anything that would-

"Awkward?" Fitz was saying. "We're we being awkward? No I don't, I think, I don't think we were being awkward. You didn't do anything like… bad or weird that would make us be… awkward. Do you-

"Hey," Skye cut in. "It's okay. I understand."

They both smiled embarrassedly at her.

"But," Skye continued. "I just came to say I'm sorry. I mean, I know you guys know that already because I already said it but… I just want you two to know I'm sorry for not telling you about Miles. And I'm sorry I tipped him off. We could have saved Scorch or whatever the hell his name was if I had just confided in you guys. And I don't know what I can do to make it up to you but… well, I'm just glad to still be here and I hope we can be friends again."

They both looked at her for a long moment and then Simmons came around the table, reaching out to grasp Skye in a hug. Skye returned it gratefully. When Simmons pulled away, her eyes were glistening.

"I'm glad you're with us too Skye." She smiled at her. "and I hope you know you can trust us now. After all, we want you to stick around for a while."

Fitz, who had come around the table also, was nodding beside Simmons.

"Yea that's, I mean, that's right. We don't want you to go away again just because you couldn't trust us. And what would we do without our hacker?"

His eyes were twinkling and they shared a hug as well.

When Skye pulled away, she was surprised at how much better she felt.

"Well, I think I got the easiest apology out of the way." Skye's eyes were happy as she looked at the pair. "The others won't be so forgiving."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure Coulson will come 'round!" Simmons said. "You may have to wait a while for Agent Ward, and I'm not sure about May but, all you can do for now is apologize." They smiled at each other and then Skye sighed.

"Yeah. Well, at least I have you two."

Skye had breakfast with them, at their insistence, and it was nice to feel accepted again. Fitz and Simmons truly did seem to forgive and forget, their faces smiling, their manner teasing. Skye was extremely grateful to them, especially since she didn't think everyone else would be nearly as forgiving.

When they had finished, Skye decided she would find May or Coulson, whoever appeared first, and apologize to them. She was feeling decidedly nervous about confronting Ward so she hoped to avoid him for as long as possible.

As she went up the stairs to the second level, she heard someone opening the door to the stairwell and came face to face with Ward. Their dark eyes met for a moment and then, without a word, he pushed quickly past her, practically jogging down the stairs. Skye sighed, trying not to dread their confrontation later.

Not seeing May in the living space, she went up the stairs to Coulson's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Coulson's voice said and she slid the door open. She raised a hand in greeting and saw May and Coulson sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked awkwardly.

May got up. "No, I was just leaving. Time for pre-flight check. We're leaving for the US in an hour."

Her eyes were guarded as she looked at Skye and exited his office. Coulson looked at her.

"Skye, come in. What can I do for you?"

Smiling at him tightly, she crossed the threshold, her hands clasped in front of her. Coulson wasn't overtly cold towards her but his eyes were guarded, more guarded than they had been before. Not that she blamed him.

"Um, I know we already talked about what happened and I know I already gave you the chip and all but, I don't think I ever officially said I'm sorry." She looked at him, hoping for any twitch of emotion. There was none. "You trusted me when you had no reason to; you took a chance on me." Skye's face was regretful. "And I totally threw that back in your face. I mean, I have a hard time trusting people because people always seem to break my trust… like Miles. But you guys," she shook her head. "You've been solid and I betrayed you because I was scared to trust you and… I guess I just want you to know I'm really sorry about that."

They looked at each other for a long moment and then Skye added,

"And I'm really glad you didn't kick me out because, honestly, I don't know where I would go."

Coulson's blue eyes seemed to be softening just a little and he stood finally, coming over to where she was standing.

"I understand some of your reasons for doing the things you did Skye," he said crossing his arms. "I'm just sorry it had to turn out this way. And it's going to take a while to earn back our trust. We may have given it easily the first time but it won't come quite as quickly the second time." His tone was firm but almost fatherly, and that made something inside Skye swell.

She nodded, swallowing hard. "Thanks for… well, for giving me another chance."

He nodded and they looked at each other for another long moment. Impulsively, Skye reached out and grasped Coulson in a hug, taking him completely by surprise. She squeezed him for a long moment and then quickly made her exit.

OOOOO

Sighing as she went down the staircase, she headed for the pilot's cabin. Her apology to Coulson had gone better than she'd expected. He had been so angry at her the night before; she really didn't think he'd be quite so understanding. But, he seemed to have a soft spot for her, a fact for which she was grateful.

Arriving at the cabin door, she took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in," May's focused voice came.

She turned the knob and the door popped open, admitting her. May turned around slightly from where she was sitting and her face was expressionless.

"Do you need something Skye?" She asked, her tone a little impatient.

"Uh," Skye said awkwardly, turning to close the door and then moving over to sit in the co-pilot's chair. May looked at her expectantly.

"Look, I guess we don't know each other all that well yet but, I know my betrayal hurt you just like it hurt everyone else."

May just continued looking at her.

"So, I don't really know what to say except… I'm really sorry for keeping all this stuff a secret from you guys. I'm sorry I couldn't trust you enough to tell you the truth. And I'm really sorry you had to face Scorch because of it and that we couldn't save him." Skye's eyes were sincere.

May stared at her for a long moment and then sighed. "Look Skye, I'm the first person to say I understand not being able to trust people. But you_ have_ to be committed to us and open with us. We can't be worried you're going to sell us out on every mission. We have to be able to trust you."

Skye nodded quickly from across the consul. May sighed again.

"I know you're just a kid and I know you've been through a lot but so have we all. At some point, we all have to decide where our loyalties lie and then take a chance." Her eyes were firm.

Skye nodded again. "I know, and I want to take a chance on you guys because… well, that's what Coulson did for me."

Looking at her with dark eyes, May nodded. "He did, against my and Agent Ward's advice." Skye's face fell and May waited a moment, then added, "But I wanted us to be wrong, Skye. And I thought, we both thought, that we had been wrong."

Skye looked up again at that and there was a glimmer of hope in her features.

"But," May continued, "you threw that trust to the wind when you betrayed us. You're going to have to earn it back."

"I know," Skye said quickly, "and I want to."

May nodded, giving her an understanding expression. "Just, know you can trust us okay? We're not going to let you down."

Skye nodded and then smiled slightly, getting up and going to the door. "Thanks May."

As she exited the cockpit, May smiled a little after her.

OOOOO

Four down and one to go.

Skye was really quite surprised at how well all the apologies had turned out. Of course, it's not like they trusted her again but at least they were obviously willing to give her a chance. And she wouldn't feel awkward talking to them now. But that left the person who's apology was probably going to be the hardest by far. And somehow she doubted he would be as forgiving as the others.

Thinking he was probably working out, Skye went to the back of the plane, exiting the cabin onto the balcony above the 'gym'. She could see him working the punching bag, obviously taking out whatever frustration he was feeling. She hoped it was helping because his hate face right now was hella scary.

Swallowing hard and taking a breath, she suddenly wondered if she should wait for a different time, since he looked engrossed in what he was doing. And really scary. But no, if he found out she had apologized to everyone else and not him, things would be worse.

Mustering up courage, she made her way to the staircase and started down it, hearing the punching stop for a moment as Ward looked up to see who it was. When she came around the spiral, he was staring at her from beside the punching bag.

"The gym's taken and it's not time for training yet," he said shortly. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Skye gave an awkward nod.

"I figured but, I'm not here about that."

His eyes bored into her as he waited for her to continue.

"Um, look so I already apologized to everyone else and they were all surprisingly forgiving," she said the last bit almost to herself. "But, I guess I saved you for last because I feel like I hurt you the most." She looked in his eyes but they were as guarded as ever.

She sighed. "Ward… Grant…" she sighed again, wondering what to say. "I know it will be a while before I can make it up to you or before I gain your trust again but, I'm not asking for that. I'm not asking for anything actually."

Trying to get her head on straight, she took a few steps towards him and crossed her arms. "I'm just really sorry that I didn't trust you." Her face was tortured as she said it and Ward could see that, he just chose not to react.

"I know that you were starting to trust me," she continued, "and I know you don't do that easily. And that's part of the reason this is so hard."

He still didn't say anything but waited, listening.

"I don't trust people easily either and I ended up almost losing the best thing that's ever happened to me because of that." To her surprise, she felt tears welling in her eyes at the admission and she blinked quickly, brushing them away with a hand.

"I'm sorry for being an idiot about Miles," she continued, "and for trusting someone who didn't deserve it. And I'm really sorry about Scorch and that we couldn't help him in time. And I guess, well," she sniffed and then crossed her arms again, looking up to Ward's face. "I guess I'm just hoping you'll give me a second chance at gaining your trust."

Ward was still looking at her with a fierce expression but now it looked more pained than anything else.

"Do you know how much you hurt us Skye?" he asked, his tone hard. "How much you hurt me?"

Skye took a breath. "About as much as Miles hurt me?"

His jaw twitched then and he turned around, running a hand through his hair. A moment later, he turned back and his face was angry.

"I actually started to trust you Skye! Me! I actually thought you were becoming an asset to our team! And not only that, I actually started to _like _you Skye! I STOOD UP for you! I thought we were becoming friends! And then I find out that you have a boyfriend who, oh by the way, works for the rising tide and SELLS INFORMATION FOR MONEY!"

Skye could feel tears starting to spill over her eyes. "That's not fair Ward, I didn't know that!"

"And," he continued as though she hadn't said anything, "HE'S the reason Scorch was put in danger! And YOU'RE the reason we didn't get to him in time!"

Tears were coursing down her cheeks now and she hugged herself tighter. He growled a little and turned around, walking to the wall and giving it a good kick. He rested both his arms on the wall and felt the cold metal touch his face, trying to let it cool his anger. After a moment of steady breathing, he turned back around to find Skye practically shaking with sadness, biting her lip and trying not to make any noise, tears coursing down her cheeks.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Ward came forward, Skye's tears surprising him by finding their way into his heart. He was angry, he didn't want to be nice to her, didn't want to give her a second chance, but those tears said something to him that words couldn't.

Stopping a few steps from her, he looked at her, his face tight. "It's_ just_ as hard for me to trust people as it is for you. And it won't be earned back easily."

She nodded, still biting her lip and trying to calm her crying. There was silence then, except for Skye's sniffs, and they stood there for a long moment.

"But," Ward finally said, causing Skye to look up at him and realize how hard these words were for him to say, "I'm willing to give you another chance."

His face was still tight but it wasn't quite as angry as before.

"But don't think that means I forgive you," he continued firmly, "because I don't. I'm not there yet."

Skye nodded and when he didn't say anything more she swallowed hard.

"Thanks," was all Skye could manage before she raced up the stairs once again.


End file.
